In a bid to enhance road safety, SMT Ghana has collaborated with Fan Milk Ghana Ltd to organise a refresher training for its truck drivers across the country.

Fan Milk Ghana is a major customer for SMT Ghana truck sales business in the distribution industry and in order to achieve safety standards and increased production, the company in collaboration with SMT Ghana conducts Volvo Trucks Driver refresher training every 2 years.

About 80 drivers from all Fan Milk depots across the country took part in this year’s training workshop which was held on the Aburi stretch of the road specifically chosen because of the hilly terrain.

The terrain was selected in order to demonstrate the functions of the Volvo truck and enhance drivers' skills.

They were schooled on: Defensive and Economy driving skills, Impact of driving behaviour on driving performance, Awareness of good health and fitness, Driver information display and Basic Information and Technical knowledge about the Volvo Truck. The Facilitator was Mr Jasper Agbakpe, Training Manager-SMT Ghana who is also a Certified Volvo trainer for SMT Group.

Speaking in an interview with the media, Mr Jasper Agbakpe, noted that the regular training for its customers was a resolve by the Volvo Group and SMT Ghana to ensure customers who purchase trucks appreciate the returns on their investment.

 “Fan Milk Ghana is a key customer for our Volvo trucks and as technology advances, the functions of the trucks change.  As such the periodic training is meant to update the drivers to keep up with the current trend on specifications on the truck. 

"Management of Fan Milk is concerned with downtown with road accidents in the country in general hence we are upbeat the biennial training will give the drivers new skills to improve road safety, better fuel efficiency and reduce the cost of maintenance,” he said. 

He said it was because of the high commitment of Fan Milk Management and Staff to ensure safety at work and in its operations that they engage with SMT Ghana.

Mr Agbakpe added that to enhance vehicle availability during pre-training, SMT Ghana has Training Simulators that can improve the training skills of drivers before introducing them to the real-life training.

Mrs Hilda Peasah, Marketing Manager, SMT Ghana, reiterated that as the official Distributor of Volvo Construction Equipment, Volvo Trucks and Volvo Penta in Ghana, SMT Ghana was also committed to investing in the after sales support such as the periodic training to ensure customers get value for their investments.

She urged the industry to take advantage of SMT Ghana’s continuous training for customers nationwide so that their machines will be in good conditions for maximum gains.